Cyber analysts have estimated that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in Nigeria have continued to lose over N127 billion annually to cybercrime, which amounts to 0.08 per cent of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
This was disclosed at a media briefing organised by Microsoft Nigeria in Lagos. Speaking at the event, Akin Banuso, Country Manager for Nigeria & Ghana at Microsoft, said with constant ongoing cyber-attacks rising to the surface across the African continent, it’s evident that governments and industries must put in place measures to successfully mitigate cyber risks. He re-emphasised Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to providing a safer and more trusted platform to organisations and businesses in Africa.
Microsoft’s recently published Security Intelligence Report, which delved into the cybersecurity events that took place over 2018 includes an overview of the threat landscape, lessons learnt from the field and recommended best practices – this was also discussed at the roundtable. Also speaking, the Digital Advisor for Microsoft Middle East & Africa, Daniel Adeyemo, said: “From our ongoing research, we found that in the past year ransomware attacks as a vector declined, software supply chains have become a risk, cryptocurrency mining is prevalent, and phishing still remains the preferred attack method of the local cybersecurity landscape and unpacked key trends that have risen to the fore.